1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method of producing a skinless meat product and in particular to the skinless meat product itself.
2. Background Art
Traditionally, boneless meat products, such as hams, have been cooked in large smoke houses to provide additional flavor to the ham. The meats are usually placed in porous bags which allow the smoke flavor in the smoke house to penetrate through the bag and into the meat product itself. During the cooking operation, the high temperature in the smoke house causes the fiber in the meat to shrink inducing the juices in the meat to purge to the surface of the meat. The juice in the meat generally consists of water, animal protein, and salt. The water contained in the juice on the surface of the meat evaporates away during the cooking process, which leaves behind a residue of protein and salt. The protein and salt residue is exposed to the high temperatures of the smoke house which cause the residue to coagulate, thus forming a skin on the surface of the meat.
The resulting skin on the surface of the meat is usually harder than the rest of the cooked meat product. Such a hardened skin is generally undesirable in taste and appearance to most consumers, especially when the meat product is used as a sandwich meat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,721,623 to Coffey et at. discloses cooking a meat product in an environment sufficiently humid to reduce the evaporation of water contained in a coloring spray which is used within the environment. However, this process is to be used in conjunction with a meat product having a skin on its surface. Therefore, the process allows some evaporation within the environment and does not disclose an environment having 100% humidity which prevents any evaporation of water.
The use of steam as a heat transfer medium is well known in the prior art. Such steam cooking devices may employ the steam at atmospheric pressure as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,805 with convection heat transfer. Steam as the heat transfer medium at substantially atmospheric pressure with forced convection heat transfer is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,215. In this last patented arrangement, water is introduced into the bottom of a steam chamber and a heat source outside that chamber heats the water to produce steam. The chamber is vented so as to maintain the pressure within the cooking vessel at substantially atmospheric pressure. Such steam cooking devices may also employ the steam at an elevated pressure as in the common "pressure cooker." U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,778 discloses a steam cooker with a valve and pump arrangement so that the pressure within the cooking vessel can be maintained either above or below atmospheric pressure. However, these references do not disclose steam cooking food products at 100% humidity, which, if prepared in such manner, would ensure that a skin will not develop on the outer surface of the food product during the cooking process.
Accordingly, as can be seen from the foregoing, there is a need for a method of cooking a meat product without forming a skin on the outer surface thereof, wherein the meat product is placed in an environment which prevents the evaporation of water from the surface of the meat product.